A much better line up w/o BJ?

[jdunn]

Coincidence or not? Or has the team finally started clicking over the last week or so. K's are definitely down and that is a good thing.

[bravesnumberone]

I definitely would say BJ needs to hit 8th when he gets back until he shows he can produce consistently. I don't want to break up CJ/Uggla/Simmons in that order.

[Heyward]

Coincidence or not? Or has the team finally started clicking over the last week or so. K's are definitely down and that is a good thing.

The notion we are a strikeout team is stupid.

It's pretty much three players who K a lot.

Uptons and Uggla, the rest aren't too bad whatsoever.

[jdunn]

The notion we are a strikeout team is stupid.

It's pretty much three players who K a lot.

Uptons and Uggla, the rest aren't too bad whatsoever.


Regardless of the notion, the fact is that we still lead the NL in K's, which I don't think will be for long as the Pirates and Mets could soon pass us. Since the break, though, the Braves are 8th in the league in K's. Right in the middle of the pack.

[bravesnumberone]

We're getting a lot more hits lately in key situations where we would have struck out more in the first half.

[Dunit24]

I love this lineup we are throwing out now. Gattis is kinda struggling but I love him in the cleanup spot and the bottom of the order with Johnson and Simmons is much improved.

IDK what we will do when BJ gets back but I dont think their is any question he will start, but the leash will def be shorter. I envision..

Heyward
Upton
Freeman
Johnson
McCann
Uggla
Simmons
Upton

[BlackwaterPark]

Gattis will be fine. Leave him alone

[Enscheff]

Now just imagine if BJ turns into the guy everyone has been expecting him to be for the past decade...

[Bama9507]

I'd be happy with a .700 OPS from BJ at this point

[jpx7]

If/When BJ Upton plays, I'd advocate hitting him ninth and employing this lineup (or some slight variation thereof):

Heyward
J Upton
Freeman
McCann
Johnson
Uggla
Simmons
Pitcher
BJ Upton

[bravesnumberone]

If/When BJ Upton plays, I'd advocate hitting him ninth and employing this lineup (or some slight variation thereof):

Heyward
J Upton
Freeman
McCann
Johnson
Uggla
Simmons
Pitcher
BJ Upton

I am completely down with this lineup. Approved.

[stpeteirish]

it'll be interesting to see if BJ hits in AAA. If he doesn't I'd be pretty reluctant to just plug him back in as our everyday CF. And Fredi does tend to stick with a lineup that is winning so he may actually keep playing Heyward in CF and Gattis in LF.

Also will be interesting to see who goes down when BJ is activated. Costanza and Cunningham bring similar skills, Terdo could also go down. I'd pick Jose, but that's just me.

[Coredor]

The really sad thing is that to me it looks like Heyward is actually better defensively in center.

[emk418]

It's going to get to a point in September that if BJ continues to play like he has been, then we will need to go with Heyward in CF and Gattis and/or Schafer replacing BJ. He's obviously going to be given time to get straightened out when activated and he should but if he's playing like this close to the playoffs then we have to go with our best lineup.

[bravesnumberone]

The really sad thing is that to me it looks like Heyward is actually better defensively in center.

And Justin isn't nearly as lost in right as he looked in left. BJ to left?

[thewupk]

The notion we are a strikeout team is stupid.

It's pretty much three players who K a lot.

Uptons and Uggla, the rest aren't too bad whatsoever.

Gattis, Reed Johnson, and Schafer have all had a good amount of abs and struck out 22% or more of the time Freeman and C Johnson are at 21%.

That's a lot of strikeouts when on the same team.

Heyward, Simmons, and Mac are really the only guys not striking out much this year. Speaking of which is a great sign for Heyward. Only a 16.9% k rate this year compared to 20+ in his previous three years.

[GovClintonTyree]

And Justin isn't nearly as lost in right as he looked in left. BJ to left?

I haven't thought about it, but this is true.

[chipchildress]

I never understood why the Braves gave a .250 career hitter with 100 something career home runs the biggest contract in club history. Best I can figure is that Wren is scared McCann was gonna steal his wife and needed a good excuse to cut him loose.

[elmonthc]

Braves so have gone down each month. The o has gotten better each month. Strange when a team is.considered a so/hr/walk team. Simmons not batting leadoff helps. If the braves get a good bj its better for the team as a whole.

[chipchildress]

Braves so have gone down each month. The o has gotten better each month. Strange when a team is.considered a so/hr/walk team. Simmons not batting leadoff helps. If the braves get a good bj its better for the team as a whole.

most of us might agree about the effects of a good bj.

[Dunit24]

Call me crazy but im still holding out hopes that BJ is going to turn his season around and show us all how good he can be. Just a nightmare season for him, but this is not the kind of player he is.

I cant imagine how good we will be IF the Uptons get going again.

[CyYoung31]

I'm just worried about the effects of BJ on Wood when he comes back.

[The Chosen One]

I'm just worried about the effects of BJ on Wood when he comes back.

We see eye to eye on that.

Wood needs all the help he can to get on top, and BJ not getting good Wood on balls is very detrimental.

[CyYoung31]

We see eye to eye on that.

Wood needs all the help he can to get on top, and BJ not getting good Wood on balls is very detrimental.

Hopefully, BJ swallows up everything deep.

[yeezus]

I never understood why the Braves gave a .250 career hitter with 100 something career home runs the biggest contract in club history. Best I can figure is that Wren is scared McCann was gonna steal his wife and needed a good excuse to cut him loose.

"Biggest contract in franchise history" doesn't really mean much IMO. Or, it's not as significant as it sounds. Obviously if Chipper played his prime in this type of inflation he would've received a bigger deal. It's just the times.

[Bama9507]

BJ was coming around until he pulled a muscle.

[Braves1976]

Coincidence or not? Or has the team finally started clicking over the last week or so. K's are definitely down and that is a good thing.

Yes, we are better with an outfield and line-up of Gattis, Heyward and Justin Upton than having BJ in there. Botton line: Gattis is a better player than BJ and Heyward has been fine in centerfield. BJ strikes out a ton and having him and Uggla striking out back-to-back in our line-up killed a lot of rallies. I really hated the signing of BJ and believe we'd be better off without him. Though that isn't an option given his contract, so he'll be back in there when back from the DL.

Just think, we could've saved that money and re-signed Mac. Big mistake IMO.

[Tino25Dynasty]

I'm really dissappointed he's gonna be back in there to be honest. (others are thinking the same thing but afraid to say it)

We have less holes when he's not in there. Now, I guess the potential of him coming back and hitting like BJ of old is always there but lets face it, a guy with a negative WAR (And I'm not even a stat guy but even I know that means somethin) is not really somethin you want in your lineup. Don't care if he's a big name with a big contract or a AAAA type player.

He'll come back and I hope he regains his true form but right now, our lineup is doing pretty solid and it's a shame Gattis who has been much better than BJ has all season is gonna be sidelined on account of "player status"

[BlackwaterPark]

0-3 with 3k's last night. I dont want this bum. Cant they just keep him down untl he can hit at least .300 in AAA for a week or two?

[GovClintonTyree]

Call me crazy but im still holding out hopes that BJ is going to turn his season around and show us all how good he can be. Just a nightmare season for him, but this is not the kind of player he is.

I cant imagine how good we will be IF the Uptons get going again.

You crazy.

[Tino25Dynasty]

0-3 with 3k's last night. I dont want this bum. Cant they just keep him down untl he can hit at least .300 in AAA for a week or two?

lol.... you're right, that should be what happens.... Heck, for just half a week...

He's coming back so we just gotta hope for the best. It just stinks b/c the chemistry on this team is going so well right now. And a guy with a negative -1.6 WAR... Lets face it, so far with the BJ of 2013, we are better without him. If he comes back and is the BJ of old, then we're better with. Thing is, he has shown NO SIGNS what so ever all year of being the guy Frank Wren thought he was getting